Fried egg plant is an original recipe from Jaffna. My grandmother used to make this curry to go with rice, bread, chappati, pittu or string hoppers. Making this dish needs a special skill; you need to monitor the water content in the egg plant when cooking it so that it doesn't turn soggy. This recipe serves two.
What you need
Eggplant, diced: 300 gm
Large onion, thinly sliced: 1
Sesame oil: 50-75 ml
Mustard seeds: 1tsp
Cumin seeds: 1tsp
Curry leaves: a few
Curry powder: 1tbsp
Chilli flakes: 1 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Turmeric powder: 1tsp
Cooking instructions
In a big bowl of water add turmeric powder and 2 tbsp of salt. Add the diced egg plant, and soak for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze the water from the diced egg plant, dry on a kitchen towel and set aside.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the diced eggplant, cumin, mustard seeds, curry leaves and onion. Use a wooden spoon and occasionally stir for 10-15 minutes till the egg plant turns golden brown.
Now add the curry powder, chilli flakes and salt to taste.
Sauté carefully till the mixture blends.
Abi Anandakumar is an ex-banker whose full-time passion is blogging and sharing information on healthy food. Her blog features vegetarian dishes from South and Southeast Asia and the Far East. She lives abroad.
Published - March 31, 2011 05:08 pm IST
